The Story
Rob Berghmans founded Caffènation in 2003, driven by his frustration with people in Antwerp making coffee without love for the product and the people drinking it, deciding things had to be changed drastically.
As a pioneer of the Belgian specialty coffee scene, Caffènation started as a small roastery and bar with a mission to introduce lighter, more flavorful third wave coffee to a city accustomed to traditional dark roasts.
The company was born of Berghmans’ desire to create something “not like the old-school cafes and coffee corners they had in Belgium, but just in a new, relaxed way, like you see in New York for example.”
In its early days, Caffènation wasn’t quite the specialty coffee operation it would become—Berghmans recalls having “eight lattes and six cappuccinos, and the caramel-macchiato kind of atmosphere was still hanging around.” It was only a couple years into the cafe’s existence that he discovered barista championships, tampers, and on-demand grinders, with the real specialty coffee transformation beginning around 2010-2011.
The business evolved systematically: after opening the original cafe, Berghmans launched a roastery in 2010, later relocated it in 2017, and expanded with a branch in Amsterdam.
The company has grown from that first pioneering specialty coffee bar thirteen years ago into an established brand known throughout Europe, now operating 2 cafes and a roastery in Antwerp and a cafe in Amsterdam.
Caffènation played an instrumental role in establishing Antwerp as the leading specialty coffee city in Belgium and inspired people to get started in coffee way beyond the city’s borders, with many early specialty coffee shops in Amsterdam carrying Caffènation beans and their owners referencing Rob Berghmans as an idol.
Sourcing & Relationships
Caffènation specializes in African coffees and works very much “in season,” offering more single origins per year than most other specialty roasters.
The roastery works exclusively with carefully selected, high-quality coffee beans, purchased directly from farmers in countries including Ethiopia, Colombia, Brazil, and Kenya, choosing transparent, sustainable trade relationships.
Rob’s approach is obsessive and driven by quality, focusing on sourcing transparently traded green beans of the highest grade, known for trans seasonal espresso blends and a wide array of single origin filter coffees.
The roastery finds that seasonality is one of the keys to a great fresh and consistent product, approaching coffee as a fruit to understand how seasons work.
Rob has made trips to cupping tables in Nairobi and Addis Ababa, bringing along fellow coffee roasters to source directly from origin.
For over 15 years, they’ve held deep admiration for the exceptional work of Danish colleagues at The Coffee Collective, whose dedicated sourcing and long-term partnership with cooperatives like KIENI have consistently resulted in remarkably high-quality coffee.
The company focuses on single-origin espressos and filter coffees, predominantly Africans, all roasted on the lighter, Scandinavian side of the spectrum.
Berghmans emphasizes that “coffee from origin is constantly improving and this we want to tell the world,” reflecting their commitment to showcasing the evolving quality at farm level.
The sourcing philosophy maintains an “old school barista” approach from origin, staying grounded rather than following every trend.
Roasting Philosophy
Caffènation roasts coffee on a state-of-the-art roaster, with the entire roasting process managed in-house. By working in small batches, they can precisely control every detail of the roast profile, ensuring that the unique flavor notes and aromas of each bean are fully expressed.
Thanks to their expertise in roasting, the coffees are tailored to various brewing methods—from espresso to filter.
The operation uses a Giesen W30A roaster, long commanded by AeroPress Championship multiple medal-holders Jeff Verellen and Simon Boone.
They are known for their trans seasonal espresso blends and a wide array of single origin filter coffees, roasted to highlight clarity, sweetness, and the unique character of each origin.
Caffènation roasts several times a week, with coffee packaged and shipped immediately after roasting, ensuring no more than a few days between roasting date and delivery.
Their approach centers on “freshly roasted small batch coffee. Again and again.”
Each coffee is labeled with a specific roast profile to best suit its brewing method.
Their coffees come in unmistakably bright bags, imprinted with a signature Cuban-political-graffiti-inspired font, with stars dotting the i’s.
The main concept behind Caffènation is to roast only the highest quality beans, with complex flavours and known origin, roasted in small portions to allow clients access to consistently fresh beans, offering varieties from plantations worldwide intended for different brewing methods.
What to Try
Roast ED is their flagship espresso blend created from the finest origin coffees, featuring 1/3 Ethiopia Yirgacheffe gr2, 1/3 Brazil Rose Diamond Natural, 1/3 Guatemala Huehuetenango, perfect for espresso enthusiasts.
This blend preserves its signature creamy mouthfeel while adding a layer of fruitiness—Honduras coffee brings creaminess and balance, Ethiopian components add sweetness and fruit notes, while Brazilian Natural contributes chocolate characteristics.
The combination of washed and unwashed beans brings out the best in each component, contributing to the blend’s depth and resilience, consistently delivering a rich and satisfying experience whether brewed perfectly or in less-than-ideal conditions.
Mister LGB represents their signature milk-based coffee blend—a union of two refined washed coffees, specially roasted and blended as the perfect base for cappuccino or flat white, though it drinks beautifully black with bright acidity and sweet, fruity flavours.
With its versatile profile, it serves as the perfect fit for both their Mister LGB espresso blend and their Kenya Kay filter line.
Kenya Kay builds on coffee from the legendary Karimikui factory—first roasted by Caffènation in 2011 and featured alongside the legendary Thunguri in that year’s World Aeropress Championship victory, made up mostly of SL28 and SL34 with a touch of Ruiru 11.
Among their single origins, Super NOVA offers 100% Arabica from Guatemala with notes of white grapes and brown sugar, great for both black and white coffee preparation, sourced from Huehuetenango region from producers Fredy Morales and Selvin Palacios.
The roastery also pioneered compostable Nespresso-compatible capsules in Belgium, offering light-roasted specialty coffee to machine users who previously had limited access to quality capsules.
Their cafe menu includes innovative drinks like the iced white—a double shot espresso with milk, vanilla and ice—alongside homemade ginger soda.